get and familiarize yourself with a good power polisher, there's no way I will ever wax or polish my car by hand again.

 

#1 P21S Concours Carnauba Wax, simply the best!

http://www.autogeek.net/p2concarwax.html

Available thru Amazon.

BTW, NOT a big fan of using power polishers on my car. No matter how good you are you WILL create and leave swirl marks. Wax should be applied in aback to front direction, never in a circular motion.

 

Sorry, but this is absolutely wrong. If by "power polisher" you mean the old rotary, direct drive, body shop tools, then maybe. However, most detailers use a random orbital (Porter Cable, Flex, Rupes, Griot's Garage, etc.) with foam pads and mild abrasives. I don't think the best detailers in the world would use "power polishers" if they swirled the paint.

Also, as has been mentioned, there is no "best wax". It's all subjective. A carnauba wax is certainly not the best if what you're after is durability.

 

Step # 1 Meguiar's Ultimate Compound


Step # 2 Collinite’s No. 476s Super Doublecoat Last Step Paste Wax

Carnauba shine, heavy-duty protection and ultimate durability


I never wax without cleaning first.

 

While "most detailers" use orbital polishers they are PROFESSIONALS. MOST casual every day car owners will likely overuse even a random polisher and either burn thru the clearcoat or scratch the paint by pressing too hard. So I stand by my statement.

As to "carnauba wax is certainly not the best". He asked about best wax, not sealants, etc. And the fact is carnauba IS the best "WAX" available, PERIOD.

 

My god, there are hundreds using orbitals here, with no swirls whatsoever, but ill let others tell you that.

 

I own three of them: Cyclo dual head, Griots 6" and Griots 3". They have never put a swirl on my cars, only removed them.

Maxie may be confusing rotary with random orbital. Rotary should only be used by people who have experience with car detailing and even then with care.

 

Wow......

 

Please elaborate......

 

I use Adams car care products.

 

I use Adams car care products also. They make the only tire dressing that doesn't come off.

 

Yes, many of their products are my favorites, and I keep ordering them. Their detail spray is the best I've used.

They camee out with a new product which sounds similar to a product Glen e was talking about lately. H20 Guard and Gloss. I used it the last time I dawned and clayed. I was very impressed with the ease of application and the depth of gloss. They say it's supposed to last at least 3 months, which isn't terribly long, but it's so easy, I can see myself using it even more often.

It left the car slick and the shine appeared to have depth, as if this was many coats of varnish on a mahogany boat.

 

You do realize that if you "press too hard" with most D/A's it will bog the motor and slow to almost no movement at all, right? The whole purpose of having a random orbit is there is no forced rotation (other than the Flex 3401), thus very little to no chance of burning through the clear coat. Can it be done? Sure, on an edge with very thin paint, an aggressive compound, aggressive foam cutting pad or wool pad and if the stars all align properly. You'd literally have to try to burn through the paint in most cases on a newer car. I've got many many hours polishing cars with a Flex 3401 (which actually has a small amount of forced rotation due to its unique backing plate design) and I must be a professional because they certainly always come out looking better than when I started. You think companies like Autogeek and Adam's make a living selling thousands of polishers to people who run out to the garage only to ruin their paint job?

Also, I'm curious... what makes P21S so much better than Collinite 845, Pinnacle Souveran, Meguiar's #16, Wolfgang Fusion, Griot's Best of Show, or Blackfire Midnight Sun, to name a few? I've tried all of them, including the P21S and couldn't tell much of a difference in any of them after it was all said and done, since, as I'm sure you know, the real shine comes from the prep stages and not the wax itself.

To the OP, as others have said, perfect your process, gather the correct tools for the job, watch lots of videos online and attend local clinics if possible, practice, find something you like and use it often. Carnauba wax, while certainly still viable, is an outdated and antiquated means of protecting your paint in my opinion. It's fine for a garage queen but the durability is awful. Look into paint sealants or coatings. I'm using Pinnacle Black Label products on my C7 and couldn't be happier with the ease of use and end result.

 

I've been a ziano guy for years and have been very happy with its results, but recently picked up reload by carpro and really like the shine and ease of application. Time will tell how well it holds up compared to ziano.

 

Unless you're using an real abrasive polishing compound, or an abrasive pad, you'd have to work really hard to burn throught clearcoat with a decent orbital. Really.

As to "carnauba wax is certainly not the best". He asked about best wax, not sealants, etc. And the fact is carnauba IS the best "WAX" available, PERIOD.[/QUOTE]

While the OP said wax, I think it's pretty clear what he was looking for was the best treatment for his paint. And while carauba may be the best wax, it sure isn't the "best" way to keep you paint shiny today.

 

NXT works very well....and it is readily available and affordable.

 

Oh Oh I might be in trouble as I was a newbie in detailing and used the orbital on 3 new cars. Oh well maybe not, since all three came out terrific. As a matter of fact one of the cars is due for a repeat polish and seal since it was last done in June. You are right "carnauba" is the best "wax" but ahhh some people don't use wax. I do have to ask how you came to the conclusion that most casual owners ruin their cars by using a orbital polisher? I'm guessing you are using the karate kid wax on, wax off method which is great also. I've been known to use that method, but not anymore. Not because it isn't great but because an random orbital does makes it a whole lot easier to do the same thing.

 

This question is like the old ...which came first the chicken or the egg. Whatever you use on your car is a personal preference. Just use a wax or polish that is made for modern cars with clear coat and you will be good.

 

I actually bought Rejex at a True Value hardware store in Hilton Head some years ago.

 

Zaino is great stuff.. so are all their other products, leather in a bottle is great too...
There was a post on the NSX forums about a guy who divided the NSX hood up into 4 sections, the Carnuba based waxes, although shiny, did not last nearly as long as the Zaino. It's not overly expensive either.
I'll see if i can dig up the link to that.. but needless to say, Zaino scored very well.